On this date:
In 1861, during the Civil War, the Confederate navy captured the Union steamer Fanny in North Carolina’s Pamlico Sound.
In 1910, the offices of the Los Angeles Times were destroyed by a bomb explosion and fire; 21 Times employees were killed.
In 1932, Babe Ruth of the New York Yankees made his supposed called shot, hitting a home run against Chicago’s Charlie Root in the fifth inning of Game 3 of the World Series, won by the New York Yankees 7-5 at Wrigley Field.
In 1936, Gen. Francisco Franco was proclaimed the head of an insurgent Spanish state.
In 1937, Supreme Court Justice Hugo Black delivered a radio address in which he acknowledged being a former member of the Ku Klux Klan, but said he had dropped out of the organization before becoming a U.S. senator.
In 1940, the first section of the Pennsylvania Turnpike, 160 miles in length, was opened to the public.
In 1949, Mao Zedong proclaimed the People’s Republic of China during a ceremony in Beijing. A 42-day strike by the United Steelworkers of America began over the issue of retirement benefits.
In 1961, Roger Maris of the New York Yankees hit his 61st home run during a 162-game season, compared to Babe Ruth’s 60 home runs during a 154-game season. (Tracy Stallard of the Boston Red Sox gave up the round-tripper; the Yankees won 1-0.)
In 1962, Johnny Carson debuted as host of NBC’s “Tonight Show,” beginning a nearly 30-year run; after being introduced to the audience by Groucho Marx, Carson received his first guests, actor-singer Rudy Vallee, actress Joan Crawford, singer Tony Bennett and comedian Mel Brooks.
In 1964, the Free Speech Movement was launched at the University of California at Berkeley.
In 1972, the book “The Joy of Sex” by Alex Comfort was first published by Mitchell Beazley of London.
In 1982, Sony began selling the first commercial compact disc player, the CDP-101, in Japan.
In 1987, eight people were killed when an earthquake measuring magnitude 5.9 struck the Los Angeles area.Ten years ago: The United States took over the month-long presidency of the U.N. Security Council at a time when it was campaigning for approval of a new resolution aimed at getting more countries to contribute troops and money to Iraq. Conservative commentator Rush Limbaugh resigned from his ESPN sports job after stirring controversy by suggesting Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb was overrated because the media wanted to see a black quarterback succeed.Five years ago: After one spectacular failure in the House, the $700 billion financial industry bailout won lopsided passage in the Senate, 74-25, after it was loaded with tax breaks and other sweeteners. Nick Reynolds, a founding member of the Kingston Trio, died in San Diego at age 75. TV actor House Peters Jr., the original “Mr. Clean,” died in Los Angeles at age 92.One year ago: Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem, addressing the U.N. General Assembly, accused some Security Council members of supporting “terrorism” in his country. North Korea warned that a “hostile” U.S. policy had left the Korean peninsula a spark away from a nuclear war. “Family Guy” creator Seth MacFarlane was named as host of the 2013 Academy Awards.